A little sunlight goes a long way.

Devotional thoughts through December: Day 7

My husband Josh sits cross-legged on the couch diagonal to me, in the recliner. He is engrossed in Unbroken, tapping his Kindle screen every few seconds to turn the page. Moments ago he knelt beside me, holding my hand, and we prayed. Our daughter is still sleeping, and all we hear is the light click-clack of my typing, the tick-tock of the living room clock, and the muffled whurr of the box fan in Ellie’s room through the baby monitor.

Stillness and quietness are gifts Josh and I cherish.

Yesterday was his first day off in twelve days. During that long stretch of work, I savored the quiet mornings alone, and I missed him. His presence now is reassuring–we are life partners; we are one. Although our differing roles may draw him out into a fast-paced world and keep me home in the ebb and flow of mothering and housework, we always come together again.

I love pursuing God with Josh. I love enjoying our mutual passions together and our different interests side by side.

We are children of God first. He is Josh. I am Lizzie. On March 24, 2012, we became Josh and Lizzie. Almost a year ago, we became Momma and Dadda to our little Ellie. Likely in the next ten minutes, she will wake for the day, requiring our service and attention. But until then I write, and Josh reads.

Glancing up at Josh every once in a while as I think of my next word or the beginning of my next sentence makes me smile with contentment. We succeed and fail in front of one another. We surprise, satisfy, and disappoint one another. Our love for one another is sustained by one thing, our love for Jesus, and more importantly, His love for us. In our successes and especially in our failures, we cling to this “precious and very great [promise]” (2 Peter 1:4) from Jude 1:24:

Jesus is able “to keep [us] from stumbling and to present [us] blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”